BRITT TOWERY: Should Muslim school holidays be an option?

SAN ANGELO, Texas - A missionary friend living in Beirut, Lebanon, wrote about life as she is experiencing it in the city once called "the Paris of the East." Wisely, in her reports, she does not give her name or those she is proselytizing.

This particular note from her was about the Eid al-Adha Festival, one of the most important religious observances in Islam, which was Oct. 26 this year. Her apartment is near one of the festival sacrificial sites.

Like the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca each year, this festival commemorates the trials and triumphs of Abraham, who left home and kin for a land promised by his new God.

Three great world religions of the world (each in their own way) venerate Abraham as God's most obedient and faithful of his servants. Abraham left the polytheists of the Mesopotamian plain at the command of (what he considered) the one and only true God.

Eid al-Adha focuses on one of Abraham's main trials — the time God commanded him to kill his only son as a sacrifice to show his faithfulness to God. Would he submit to God in this deed? "To submit" is a possible English equivalent to the Arabic word "Islam."

The Arabic word means "submission" or "surrender" — derived from the root word "Salam," which also is the root word for peace. Some feel that Islam implies being slaves to God, but others define the word "Islam" as surrender.

Surrender to God is not just a Muslim concept. Many religions have a concept of surrender to God. In Jewish history, when the ancient Hebrews obeyed God's commands, they had a long period of prosperity and stability.

In Christianity, surrendering to God is a way of putting your life into more capable hands — in fact, Jesus asked many of his disciples to surrender their livelihoods and follow him.

So if we look at the word "Islam" in this way, we can understand why obeying God's commands and trusting in God's wisdom could bring peace for a Muslim.

The word does not represent a one-sided relationship, where the believer is enslaved to God. Rather, the word Islam indicates a covenant between God and his followers; a Muslim surrenders his or her will to God in return for peace or safety.

It may come as a shock to Protestant and Catholic church-going folks that there are places in the U.S. recognizing Muslim religious holidays and more are being suggested.

A request has been submitted by the Florida chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations for school systems to recognize Muslim holidays, just as they recognize Christian and Jewish holidays.

If the request is granted Broward County would be the first in Florida to add Muslim holidays into the calendar.

There are about 18,000 Muslims students enrolled in the school district — about 7 percent of the population. Seems fair to give holidays to all religious groups. Muslims are forced to take other religions holidays so adding the major Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha should not be a problem.

That school district's report shows it currently closes on several Jewish and Christian holidays. It cites high absenteeism as the reason.

Elsewhere across the U.S., recognizing Muslim religious holidays is gaining ground. In Boston, leading schools in the Cambridge Public School District issued a decision in 2010 to recognize two Islamic holidays, making it easier for Muslim students to honor their holiest days.

Knowing our emailing missionary friend as I do, she probably would not be in favor of giving Muslim holidays in American schools. I may be wrong about that, but many West Texans I know would be waving their pitchforks and lighting their torches as they stormed the streets in opposition.